The Great Escape
by shadow talon girl
Summary: "Ever since the first time Dipper watched the show, he felt like it was made for him, that he just HAD to get on it somehow..." A new game show arrives in Gravity Falls, and the Pines' can't wait to be a part of it! But have they taken on more than they can handle? And what's really going on behind the scenes? (on hiatus for now, sorry!)
1. Prologue: The Auditions

**SURPRISE! Bet you'd thought you'd seen the last of me!**

 **… Well now that I got that out of my system: WOW it's been a long time. I can't even remember the last time I updated any of my fics, much less started a new one. Most of you probably thought I'd given up on this website. And, well, I had for a while, until I was struck by this idea.**

 **It came to me while watching the science channel on vacation, and stumbling across some seemingly new show called Race to Escape, which involved the contestants locked in a room and having to solve various puzzles to escape. And, being the nerd I am, all I could think at the time was "I bet Dipper would love this show". It wasn't until about 1:00 AM, when I had to force myself to stop writing on my phone and go to sleep, that I figured I'd gone too far to turn back.**

 **So, there you have it! This first chapter is just gonna be the prologue, which includes everyone's audition tapes, but the first actual chapter will be uploaded directly after, so you won't have to wait! Another thing I'd like to get out of the way: despite being a fan of the show for a long time, this is my first time writing for Gravity Falls, and I kind of jumped right into it by doing a fanfic of ALL of the main characters on my first go… not my best idea, honestly. If anyone notices I'm mischaracterizing them, or has tips on how I can write them better, PLEASE let me know in a review, I would be extremely grateful!**

 **Lastly, thanks in advance to anyone who reads and reviews, and thanks to my subscribers (if you're reading this) for sticking with me this long. All of you guys rock!**

 **That's it for now, thank you so much and I hope you enjoy!**

...

 **Prologue**

 _The video flickers to life, opening on a still shot of an old wooden chair, sitting in front of what appears to be a white sheet hung in the middle of a living room. A young boy rushes from behind the camera into the chair. He straightens his pine tree cap, clears his throat and begins to speak, sounding as if he's practiced these same words hundreds of times._

"Hello there. My name is Dipper Pines, and I would love nothing more than to be a contestant on the Great Escape. I'm twelve years old, but people say I'm mature for my age, and I can't help but agree. I'm a supernatural enthusiast, and I like to think of myself as somewhat of a puzzle expert. I love any challenge that requires me to step outside the box and think differently, and… and that's what this game's all about, right?"

 _Finished with his speech, the young man jumps up from the chair and out of view, rushing back to the camera. There is a half second of static before the scene resumes._

 _Instead of the boy, video cuts to a young girl, very similar to him in appearance, wearing a brightly colored sweater._

"HELLO!" _the girl shouts. Loud shushing is heard from off camera._ "My name is Mabel Pines! I'm an arts and crafts master," _she begins as she counts off her many talents on her fingers_ , "successful video blogger, trained sweater engineer, boyband connoisseur, and professional fun-lover! And what could be MORE fun than being on a real live game show? I'll tell you what: being on a real live game show AND getting to meet new friends, AND solving mysteries together! Now THAT sounds like fun!"

 _After another brief flash of static, a broad-shouldered man, looking to be in his sixties, begins to speak._

"Hi, I'm Stan Pines! I'm a self-trained salesman and the current owner of the Mystery Shack, a mysterious and bewildering place where… what?" _A voice is heard whispering to him._ "Oh okay, fine, it's a tourist attraction in the middle of the woods. Look, I'm gonna level with you, I'm not really big on the whole 'puzzle solving' thing. But hey, teamwork's half the game, and it just so happens that owning and operating my own business makes me the perfect leader! Plus I can punch stuff. And, you know, some of the puzzles might involve punching. Maybe." _There is a long, awkward pause before he adds:_ "It could happen."

 _Another second of static. An old, jaded man sits rigidly and stares straight into the camera. He is significantly thinner, but is otherwise looks identical to the man from the previous clip._

"Greetings. This is Stanford Pines, supernatural-" _He is interrupted by a voice from offscreen:_

"Great uncle Ford?" the young boy speaks up. "This isn't like a video diary or anything; you're allowed to act… you know, casual."

 _The man nods._ "Right, right. Let me start again." _He clears his throat rather loudly and speaks, at first with almost the exact same tone as before._ "Greetings. This is… Ford?" _Pause._ "Right. My name is Ford Pines. I'm an acclaimed supernatural researcher and an accomplished inventor, and in my spare time I love nothing more than a good mystery. I have a knack for getting myself out of tricky situations, a skill I've had thirty years to practice," _he mutters somewhat spitefully._ "In fact I've faced challenges a lot like the ones seen on this show before, only the stakes were usually… well, I'll just say that they were a lot higher. So this should be pretty fun! Just as long as it's not too easy… or a trap."

 _Static. A tall young woman sits slouched in the chair, twirling her long red hair absently._

"I'm Wendy Corduroy, age 15. I guess you could say I'm a lumberjack? Or maybe… I dunno. I'm still kinda figuring it out…*ahem* One of my skills is that I can think on my feet; I do my best when the stakes are high. I can also handle myself under pressure. I'm willing to take on stress. Especially when there's twenty-five THOUSAND dollars on the line, I mean come ON-"

 _Static. A wide set Hispanic man sits waving cheerfully, looking decidedly nothing like the young redheaded woman._

"Hey dude! Or dudette, or whoever it is who watches these things. You can call me Soos. I specialize in repairs. People say I can fix mostly anything! I also like video games, and game shows are pretty much just live action video games, right? Or at least that's what Gumption was like… But anyway! I am, uh, resourceful, and… oh, and I'm a really good guesser, and I'm pretty sure that solving puzzles is like, at least 40% guesswork, right?" _A brief pause._ "Aha! Dipper- I mean, the camera man (who also happens to be like a puzzle expert) just nodded. So…" _He shrugs._ "I _guess_ that's proof! See, see what I did there?"

 _A sigh is heard; the screen cuts to static again before the video finally blacks out…_


	2. Let the Games Begin

**Chapter One: Let the Games Begin**

"Alright, rise and shine, everyone!"

The voice boomed throughout the small room. It was a lively, charismatic voice, one that seemed full of energy and enthusiasm. Unlike the room's occupants.

Dipper groaned, partly out of being woken up so suddenly, but also because of the pounding headache he'd awoken with. Maybe it had something to do with the dream he'd had last night; although it was fading as he woke up, he did remember that it wasn't pleasant. He tried to raise his hand to rub his temples; maybe that would relieve some of the stress-

He then discovered that he couldn't move his arms.

His eyes snapped open, but the room around him was pitch black. He was sitting upright (in an admittedly comfortable chair), and he was tied tightly from his elbows up to his chest. He gasped, feeling a wave of panic overtake him.

Until he remembered the voice.

"Welcome one and all, to the race of your lives," the voice enthused, his energetic tone beginning to affect Dipper as well. "Welcome to the Great Escape!"

The panic vanished, and all of a sudden Dipper found himself overwhelmed with excitement.

"You all know the rules: you have one hour to escape from three separate rooms. The first group out wins it all, the losers will be lucky to get out ALIVE! HAHAHAHA!" There was a brief silence, and Dipper chuckled at the announcer's familiar antics. "I'm kidding, of course. But you'd still better get moving; there's $25,000 at stake! Your hour starts now. Time is ticking, so good luck, and enjoy your stay!"

With that, the lights came on.

Dipper had to squint against the harsh light, momentarily unable to see the room around him. He heard his teammates groan as well at the rude awakening they'd received, but he couldn't make out who they were either. As he waited for his eyes to adjust, he allowed himself a minute to quietly freak out.

He couldn't believe it; he was actually ON Great Escape! Ever since the first time he'd seen the show he'd felt like it was made for him, like he just HAD to get on it somehow. And after seeing the announcement that they were accepting auditions, it almost felt too good to be true. But THIS… he wished his arms were free so he could pinch himself and make sure it wasn't a dream!

 _Okay,_ he thought, bringing himself back to the present. _Fun's fun, but I'm on a mission here._ Having seen the show an impressive number of times, he knew his first step would be to escape his restraints, but also to get to know the other contestants he'd been paired up with. Thanks to a random selection system, he figured it could be anyone in Gravity Falls, so he'd have to cooperate with them from the very start.

"So are you guys tied?" he asked as he started trying to wiggle his arms out, attempting to sound casual and professional at the same time.

"Dipper?"

"Is that you?"

As his eyes finally started to get used to the bright lights, Dipper stopped squirming and gave the room a quick once over. He was in a standard hotel room: the walls were painted bright red, and there were luxuries such as a wall hanging TV, a sofa, a large blue dresser and two double beds. Which just so happened to contain Wendy and Stanley, who were each strapped to their respective beds and craning their necks to stare at him.

"Grunkle Stan? W-Wendy? Why are you…?" A thought struck him. "Oh my gosh. This must be the family special I heard about! The internet rumors were true!" Dipper laughed excitedly to himself, not noticing the other's worried expressions.

"Um, dude?" Wendy spoke up, but wasn't sure what to say.

"Alright, we're all very excited to be here," Stan interjected, seeming impatient, "but how about we get out of this before we start celebrating?"

"Oh! Right, sorry," he said sheepishly. "Uh, look around, see if there's anything we can reach to get us out of here, like a key for one of you guys or-"

"Or scissors?" Stan asked.

Dipper gave him a flat look. "How would scissors help us?"

"Well I just figured," he began, "a key wouldn't be much help if none of us could reach it. Plus there's a glass case hanging on the wall with scissors in it."

"What? Where?"

"It's right behind you, man," Wendy explained, tilting her head and pointing with it. "You could just lean back and smash it!" she realized.

"Perfect! Okay, what side of the recliner is the lever on?"

"To your right."

"Alright. Now, if I can just… get one hand free…" Dipper struggled against the ropes, trying to loosen them enough to slip his arm out. He felt it scratching against him, but he ignored it. Just a little further…

"Haha!" Dipper exclaimed as he freed his arm, earning a short cheer from Wendy and Stan. Without wasting another second, he grabbed the lever and yanked it. The chair flew back and crashed into the wall, causing the glass case to fall onto Dipper's head. He reached up and grabbed it, carefully unscrewing the back of the frame.

"What's taking so long?" Stan groaned. "Just smash it already!"

"I'm not gonna spill broken glass all over the place," Dipper countered. "We're going to be spending a lot of time in this room, so we need to be… Ah, there we go!" Having the scissors free, he wasted no time in cutting himself out.

He jumped up from his chair, stumbling a little as he had just been sleeping a moment ago, and ran over to the other two. Halfway there he stopped.

"I don't have a key."

"Oh, COME ON!" Stan groaned.

Wendy glared at him. "It's okay. Uh, check the drawers in the nightstand, or the dresser; maybe there's something there."

"Alright," he said with a nod. He immediately ran back across the room towards the dresser.

While he was preoccupied digging through the clothes someone had left there, Stanley took a brief look around the room, trying to distract himself. He leaned his head back to stare at a poorly-drawn picture of the tooth fairy someone had taped to the wall over his bed, but after a moment he got bored with that as well and resorted to small talk to fill the silence.

"So, we're on that game show thing?" he asked.

"Great Escape, that's right," Dipper mumbled as he rifled through the drawer.

"And you said it was the family special or something?" The boy nodded again. "So, does that mean Mabel and the others are in another room, trying to escape too?"

"Well, I doubt that." Having finished the first one, he picked up an armful of clothes and dumped them onto the floor. "I mean, I wouldn't know anything about it, but I'm guessing they'd at least use two different families."

"Yeah, that's probably for the best," he chuckled. "I wonder how Ford would handle this kind of thing, though." Sparing a glance at Dipper's growing pile of clothes, he added, "He'd be doing better than us, that's for sure."

…

"WHO'S THERE?!" Stanford shouted as he woke with a start, the voice's call of "Enjoy your stay!" still echoing in the room. He tried his best to sound intimidating, but he couldn't mask the fact that he was scared deep down. _Somehow_ he seemed to have been captured in the middle of the night, and placed in restraints in a dark room. He had no idea what was going on, but judging by the last time this happened to him, he knew it wouldn't end well…

No! He sat up, fighting against the restraints. This was no time to panic; burying his fear deep down, he let his survival instincts take over, feeling the adrenaline rush through him as he prepared to break out of… where was he anyway?

As if in response to his unspoken question, the lights came on all at once. Ford shut his eyes, trying to force them to adjust to the change.

"Where am I?" he demanded to know. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Grunkle Ford, calm down!"

Ford gasped. He forced one eye open, painfully squinting against the harsh light, and was just able to make out a rocking chair across the room… and the silhouette of his great niece tied to it.

"…Mabel?" He felt a brief wave of terror wash over him. _Mabel._ He didn't know where he was or who was behind this, but if they had hurt her, _so help him…_

"Are you okay?" Mabel asked, her voice distraught. True, she hadn't known him for very long, but she had still never seen her great uncle worked up like this, and wasn't too keen to relive the experience.

Stanford took a deep breath, attempting to make it as discreet as possible so as not to worry her. "I'm fine, Mabel. Are you alright?"

"Well, yeah…"

He held back a sigh of relief. "Alright. Just hold tight; I'll get us out of here. If I can just break free…" He struggled against the straps holding him down.

Mabel cocked her head. "Um, Ford? I don't think that's how the game works."

Ford froze. "Game?"

"Yeah, didn't you hear that announcer guy?" Mabel enthused, beginning to rock back and forth restlessly. "We're on Great Escape!"

"Great… what?" He tried to think back to what the voice had said before, about the first people to escape winning something. "You mean this is all just part of a… of a game show?"

"Exactly!"

Ford rose his eyebrows, feeling somewhat stupid but mostly incredulous. "Well… then, why were we kidnapped and brought here against our will?!" he said, mostly to the announcer, if he was still listening. Game or not, that didn't sit right with him.

The girl shrugged, which proved to be difficult as her arms were tied to her sides. "I guess that's just how the game works," she said with an innocent smile.

Ford sighed. Her attitude towards the whole situation was surprisingly laid-back, but she did have a point. If they were indeed just on a game show, and not being held captive by some evil mastermind, their time would be better spent trying to escape than discussing how they got there. Come to think of it, that was probably the best option no matter the situation.

"Well then, what are we waiting for?" he said, trying his best to sound enthusiastic. "Let's get going!"

"Yeah!" Mabel exclaimed, rocking her chair harder and accidentally bumping into the wall. As she did, a case fell off of the wall behind her and landed in her lap. "Whoops… oh hey, neat!"

"What is it?"

Mabel reached under the ropes that held her down and grabbed the case, immediately smashing it against the armrest. "Scissors!" she exclaimed, attempting to hold them up triumphantly, but she ended up looking awkward with her arms still bound.

"Perfect! You can cut yourself out, and then work on finding a key for me."

"And Soos!" Mabel added as the scissors easily sliced through the ropes. She stretched her newly freed arms and pointed to the bed beside Ford. Her uncle did a double-take; he hadn't noticed before, but apparently the man-child had been sleeping there the entire time.

"Huh. Heavy sleeper," said Ford, oddly impressed. "Should we wake him up or…?"

"Nah, let him have his beauty sleep," she insisted. "Alright, soooo… where am I supposed to look?"

"Well, start by looking around the room," Ford suggested, "and seeing what clues you can find. The keys themselves probably won't be in plain sight, but there must be something here." Mabel nodded as he explained, looking genuinely captivated, and he smiled. Truth be told, he was flattered to have her look up to him. "Think: we're in a hotel room, or at least a room designed to look like one. What do you see that doesn't belong in a hotel room?"

"Hmm… well, for starters, who frames scissors in a glass case and just hangs them on the wall?" she said jokingly. "But what else is there…? Oh! There's something!"

"What, where?" Ford looked around, but she seemed to be pointing behind him.

"There's a drawing of the tooth fairy on the wall over there." She ignored her grunkle's raised eyebrow and went on: "It's really cute, too; it's in crayon and it looks like it was done by a five-year-old… OMIGOSH!" she exclaimed.

"What?"

"TOOTH FAIRY!" she yelled excitedly. "Tooth fairy leaves money, money for teeth!" Her explanation was erratic, but Ford could already see where it was going. "And _where_ does she put the money?"

"Of course, under the pillows!" He laughed. "It was right under my nose the whole time, but I couldn't have reached it if I tried. Great Escape, I have severely underestimated you," he muttered, admittedly impressed.

Mabel skipped over and reached under Stanford's pillow, pulling out two large, decorative keys. She unlocked Ford first, and he gratefully tore off the restraints and stood up, stretching his back out as he did.

Mabel smiled as she approached Soos to unlock him as well. However, he was still sound asleep. "Hey Soos? Soooooos?" she whispered, gently prodding him with the key. When that did nothing, she took in a deep breath. "SOOS I'M MAKING CHOCOLATE-CHIP PANCAKES!"

Soos' eyes instantly opened. "I'll have ten!" There were a few seconds of silence before the man realized what was going on. "Wait, what? Where-"

"No time to explain!" Mabel said as she unlocked him as well, offering her hand to help him out of bed. "We're on a game show and we've only got… how much longer do we have?"

"According to that clock," Stanford offered, pointing at a digital clock that overlooked the kitchen area, but which seemed to be counting off the seconds, "we have about 54 minutes left."

"We've only got 54 minutes to escape and win our 25 thou-"

"Whoa, whoa, hold on there…" Soos held up a hand, appearing somewhat surprised. "Are we actually on TV? Like, right now?"

Mabel nodded, her smile taking up half of her face.

"We're on that game show Dipper kept talking about?" he asked, growing more excited. Another nod, and suddenly his excitement vanished as he realized: "Aw man, and I slept through the first challenge!"

"It's fine, Soos!" she reassured him. "You're here now, and that's what counts!

"Okay, Dipper's made me watch this show about a million times; next we need to look for the codes that will unlock the door," continued Mabel. "But that drawing was the only clue I saw."

"Hmmm…" Soos appeared to be deep in thought, and even Ford was watching him intently. "I'm gonna take a guess here: what if the next clue is something, like, super conspicuous? Specifically," he added, "what has a whole lot of space to hide stuff in _and_ is the biggest, most conspicuous thing in the room?"

Everyone in the room turned to stare at the dresser across from the beds. Where the rest of the mock hotel room was decorated in shades of blue, the dresser was a conspicuous dark red. "Huh." Ford nodded. "That… might actually work. Good call." He rubbed his hands together, eager to get down to business. "Alright, everyone grab a drawer and start searching!"

…

 _Wow, the blue team's doing great so far!_

The announcer sat in his booth, silently watching the contestants from various monitors. _The red team hasn't even gotten up yet, though,_ he thought. Oh, how he wished he could give them just a little hint! But that wasn't how the game worked. His boss had made that clear.

He sighed. Sure, he appreciated his boss; if it wasn't for him, he would have never made his dream for this show a reality. Still, the two had sort of a… rocky relationship, to say the least.

Even so, he enjoyed his job. Really, he did. He loved watching the respective teams learning to work together, solving mysteries, dodging obstacles; everything up to the last second was as much of a thrill for him as it was for the contestants! And the family special was no exception, with both sides of the same family unknowingly racing for the prize.

Any minute now, the blue team would break out of the first room, and he simply couldn't wait for the chance to talk to them and tell them how well they were doing, as well as offering some encouragement to the red team. Although, maybe it would be the other way around; he wouldn't know until they got there.

That was the fun of it, and it was what kept him going through each episode: the thrill of never knowing what was going to happen next! No matter which team seemed to be doing better, the winner always surprised him. He almost wanted both teams to win. But, of course, that wasn't how the game worked, either.

Only one team could win. But there was no telling who it would be.

He smiled slightly. No matter what happened, he knew one thing: _This is going to be fun._

…

 **Well, if THAT isn't the most cliché sentence to end a chapter with… xP**

 **So what do you think? Liking the story so far? Who do you think will escape the first room first? If you have time to let me know in a review, I'd sure appreciate it!**

 **Well, that's all I've got for now. School's just started back for me, but I'm looking forward to finishing the next chapter as soon as possible. So thanks for reading, and I look forward to hearing from you. See you soon!**


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